The construction industry is under increasing pressure to improve efficiency, embrace more sustainable practices and reduce waste. Currently, it is estimated to produce around one third of the world’s total waste and remains, according to McKinsey & Company, one of the least digitised industries, resulting in slower productivity growth, higher costs, and inefficiencies. And, while the recognition for digital transformation is there, actual adoption remains slow – not least due to the industry’s complex ecosystem and cautious approach to change.

These challenges are, however, not unique to the construction sector. Indeed, in recent years, industries such as life sciences, and food and beverage have overcome similar barriers and made significant strides in improving traceability, reducing waste, and working towards a circular economy. The key to unlocking these efficiencies? 2D barcodes.

Rob Ellinor, Programme Manager (Strategic Business), Domino Printing Sciences, explores how the construction industry can learn from the experiences of organisations in other sectors, and outlines how 2D codes powered by GS1 can help cut waste, improve sustainability and circularity – and lay the foundation for a digitised future.

Small Gains, Big Impact

The global construction industry is one of the largest sectors in the world, estimated to be worth around $13 trillion annually. It contributes significantly to the global economy, accounting for a notable percentage of the world’s GDP, ranging from 10% to 13%. Yet, it is also one of the world’s largest waste contributors, creating an estimated third of overall waste and around 40% of global carbon dioxide emissions – compared to the 2-3% caused by aviation.

It is, therefore, hardly surprising that the sector is coming under increasing pressure to reduce waste. The EU Waste Framework Directive mandates the establishment of an integrated network of waste disposal and recovery installations, allowing member states to regulate waste shipments to protect their networks and environment. In the US, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) sets rules for managing waste, including construction and demolition debris, with the United States Environmental Protection Agency involved for hazardous materials – while New Zealand has just introduced heightened obligations under the Building (Building Products and Methods, Modular Components, and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021. At a more global level, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals include targets related to sustainable consumption and production, which can influence national regulations on waste management.

The scale of waste reduction efforts was recently expressed by Dan O’Gorman, Engagement Consultant – Construction, GS1 Ireland, at the GS1 Global Forum in February 2025, where he highlighted the significant impact that even a small percentage change could make: “In an industry currently worth €12 trillion, even a 1% improvement in productivity could deliver approximately €120 billion in savings, equivalent to 480,000 new homes.”

In other terms, such a saving could fund 6,000-8,000 schools in developing countries; provide basic shelter for 100+million people to address urgent housing crises; or offset the cost of switching to sustainable materials to meet the EU’s green deal building targets.

Yet, barriers remain. In addition to awareness and organisational cultural barriers, commonly cited challenges include inadequate infrastructure, lack of standardisation (both data and process) and the complexity and fragmentation within the industry.

This is where 2D codes powered by GS1 can be – and have already elsewhere proven to be – transformational. Both the global life sciences and food and beverage industries have, in recent years, reaped the benefits of adopting 2D codes, including improved traceability throughout complex supply chains, better data and inventory management, improved regulatory compliance, faster and more accurate recalls, and reduced waste.

So how might the global construction industry benefit by implementing 2D codes on building materials?

1. Waste management through traceability

Given its current manual processes, the industry lacks a clear picture of the root causes of waste, with an estimated 61-62% of materials going untracked, according to Defra. The World Green Building Council also highlights that a significant “13% of materials delivered to a construction site end up being sent directly to landfill without having been used”.

Introducing 2D codes on building materials and products facilitates a means of replacing these manual processes, providing more visibility of products as they move through supply chains and enabling distributed organisations to identify inefficiencies, reduce material overuse and over-/re-ordering, and allowing for efficient returns. Reducing material waste in this way also lowers resource extraction and energy consumption, directly supporting sustainability goals while driving productivity gains.

1. Enabling a circular economy

A fragmented data landscape increases costs and limits the effectiveness of recycling efforts. 2D codes powered by GS1 can help ensure materials are appropriately identified and tracked throughout their lifecycle, supporting compliance with sustainability regulations and the principles of the circular economy.

Enhanced visibility into material use also allows for better resource recovery, reducing an organisation’s environmental impact while improving operational efficiency. Furthermore, digitalisation aligns with regulatory initiatives such as the Digital Product Passport (DPP) and the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (EUSPR), enabling businesses to meet compliance requirements through effective recycling and advance their own sustainability goals.

Independent academic research has validated the efficiency and usability of QR codes as a data carrier for circular construction supply chains over other direct product marketing solutions such as static numerical codes further reinforcing the applicability of this technology for long-term, sustainable change.

1. “Start with [the] end in mind”

At the GS1 Global Forum earlier this year, Dan O’Gorman emphasised the benefits that digitalisation now could bring years down the line, where GS1 standards can facilitate consistency and accessibility of material data across the supply chain, far beyond the traceability and information sharing during construction phase.

GS1 standard-enabled 2D codes offer a significant potential to embed entire new information models, with live digital twins of construction projects that can act as deconstruction blueprints, supporting the industry’s target of a fully sustainable lifecycle – from construction to demolition – enabling the efficient repurposing of materials and laying the foundation for a construction industry designed around circularity and long-term resource efficiency.

Conclusion

As the global construction industry comes under increased regulatory pressure to reduce waste and improve efficiency and sustainability, 2D codes powered by GS1 offer a powerful mechanism to overcome data and process fragmentation within a large and highly complex ecosystem.

Moreover, organisations operating in this sector can take advantage of the lessons learned from other industries and the technology partners who supported their adoption and integration processes: those businesses who invested in 2D codes reaped benefits that extended beyond waste reduction and traceability, to include increased operational efficiency, improved profitability, and better stakeholder sentiment.

With the technology proven in practice and the benefits that even an incremental percentage improvement can yield, now is the time to start building the construction industry of the future.